Yeah, just read about this. This included Glen Plake and co that were trying to climb and ski Manaslu. They were at 7000 meters in their tents, avalanche happened about 4:45am, and hit the camp shortly thereafter. Glen Plake is ok, but most of his teammates are probably dead. Poor weather is inhibiting the search currently.

This was posted on the blog site for another group on Manaslu at the same time:

"We have just returned to base camp after a long day on the mountain and all team members are well. We awoke at 4:30 AM Nepal time to snow, winds, & ice penetrating our tents at Camp 2. Fortunately everybody in our group was ok, however when we climbed up to Camp 3 shortly after to investigate we discovered the debris from a massive avalanche and found many climbers in distress. During the rescue & recovery in the following hours we were able to coordinate and assist evacuating over a dozen climbers on 10 helicopter flights from just below Camp 3 (20,500’). Lakpa Rita Sherpa coordinated much of the helicopter evacuation by speaking directly to the pilot and supervising the packaging and transportation of patients to our makeshift helipad on the debris field. Currently our group is now in base camp and planning to rest for a few days."

Not much more info, but it seems like they are getting climbers down.

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.-Helen Keller

Terrible . . . thoughts and prayers to everyone forever on the mountain and their families and all closely affected by this tragedy.

" The two most important days in your life are the day you were born, and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain"Danger in Alpinism is just part of the game. As soon as you eliminate the danger you have just every other sport." Febrizio Zangrilli“The best climber in the world is the one who is having all the fun.” – Alex Lowe"To travel, to experience and learn, that is to live" - Sherpa Tensing Norgay (first person to Summit Mt. Everest)"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit" - Edward Abbey" Don’t be afraid to move out of your comfort zone. Some of your best life experiences and opportunities will transpire only after you dare to loose."

With Tibet closed to foreigners since June, it seems that Manaslu was much more crowded than usual this season.

Yes. From a technical standpoint, Manaslu is one of the easier of the 8000 meter peaks, but from an avalanche standpoint, it is one of the most dangerous.

I might be wrong, but I think this is the largest single incident since the German Team was decimated on Nanga Parbat in the 1930s.

No. An avalanche on Manaslu in 1972 killed 15 people.

Ed Viesturs' book (for example) and a few other sources are in error when they made the comment that the incident on K2 some years ago was the deadliest since the 1930's Nanga Parbat incidents. The avalanche on Manaslu in 1972 killed 15 people (10 of them Sherpas) instantaneously. For some reason the Manaslu incident is often forgotten, perhaps because that mountain doesn't get the same media attention as K2, Everest, Annapurna or Nanga Parbat.

Anyway, the recent accident is unfortunate and tragic. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends.

With Tibet closed to foreigners since June, it seems that Manaslu was much more crowded than usual this season.

Yes. From a technical standpoint, Manaslu is one of the easier of the 8000 meter peaks, but from an avalanche standpoint, it is one of the most dangerous.

I might be wrong, but I think this is the largest single incident since the German Team was decimated on Nanga Parbat in the 1930s.

No. An avalanche on Manaslu in 1972 killed 15 people.

Ed Viesturs' book (for example) and a few other sources are in error when they made the comment that the incident on K2 some years ago was the deadliest since the 1930's Nanga Parbat incidents. The avalanche on Manaslu in 1972 killed 15 people (10 of them Sherpas) instantaneously. For some reason the Manaslu incident is often forgotten, perhaps because that mountain doesn't get the same media attention as K2, Everest, Annapurna or Nanga Parbat.

Anyway, the recent accident is unfortunate and tragic. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends.

Good stuff, thanks for the info Scott.

I remember recently reading about a climber who stopped after 12 or 13 8000ers since he was unwilling to attempt Manaslu again.

I'm still baffled by the fact that there were 30 climbers at Camp 3 alone...Thought this peak was way less popular (tho geopolitics seem to have played a role).

I'm still baffled by the fact that there were 30 climbers at Camp 3 alone...Thought this peak was way less popular (tho geopolitics seem to have played a role).

Manaslu is one of the more popular 8000 meter peaks, it just doesn't get that much media attention. Manaslu is especially popular whenever Tibet is closed since the traffic from Cho Oyu (and Shisha Pangma) tends to shift to Manaslu, especially from the guiding companies.

Depite its popularity, Manaslu actually has a pretty high death rate, somewhat skewed by huge avalanche tragedies such as the one in 1972 (and now this one).

This is so sad. I spoke with my dad about this today (he has climbed half of the 8000 meter peaks and attempted Manaslu in May of 1978 with Gerry Roach) and he told me about their experience on this mountain. They got nailed with awful weather and the mountain received 55 feet of snow in 50 days. One storm alone dumped 7 feet in one night! They basically shoveled the entire time they were on the mountain. They had to mark gear caches with 15 foot avy probes that still got fully buried. Eventually, they made it to camp four but had to retreat because of the snowy weather and the dangers associated with it. To get back to the lower camps they had to kick off multiple slides. He said that camp 3 was very exposed. A few years back I met a gentleman on Khan Tengri who had just climbed Manalsu and he had a similar experience with massive snow storms. My dad said the most important piece of gear he brought on Manaslu was a grain shovel and that it saved their lives. Seems like it could be the snowiest mountain on earth... The AAC journal of 1978 has a write up about their expedition since it was the American high altitude record for Manaslu at the time. My dad and I were planning on going for Manaslu next year but this might change things since my mom already hates our climbing... Condolences to all that were involved.